Jeff's Artisan Spider Selection - from Barbless Flies
Spiders (or Soft Hackle flies) are one of the most popular flies in rivers today, and for good reason. They are very easy to fish and a really effective method all through the trout season.
Usually fished in a team of either 2 or 3, and sometimes even 4. They are a great searching technique, especially in the early season when the rivers can be higher than normal and there are no obvious hatches.
However, during the Summer - when the rivers are 'skinny' - you need a skinny fly. Try fishing a single spider, just drifted in the first few inches of water.
We have put together a great selection of our Artisan Spiders - in total, there are 32 flies (16 different patterns, 2 of each) - and teamed them up with one of the most luxurious fly boxes on the market.
Jeff's Artisan Wooden Fly Boxes
These fly boxes are stunning works of art in their own right - each box features a magnetic closing mechanism, which is also handy for holding your fly when changing it!
We now have three different sizes of Jeff's Wooden Fly Boxes (each available in different wood):
- Small - 5" x 3.5" - Oak Cluster
- Medium - 6" x 4" - Pommele Sapele, American Black Walnut Cluster
- Large - 8" x 5" - Teak, American Black Walnut & Oak Cluster
Here's the different wood used in Jeff's boxes:
Pomelle Sapele - Pommelle sapele wood has a rich, reddish-brown base with a warm, almost coppery undertone, similar to mahogany but often a little deeper and more chocolatey. What makes it stand out is its striking, swirling “quilted” or “mottled” figure—the “pommelle” effect—that catches the light in rippling patterns.
American Black Walnut - Has a deep, chocolatey brown heartwood that can range from a rich espresso tone to a warm, purplish-brown, often streaked with darker or slightly lighter veins. It’s one of the few domestic hardwoods in North America with such naturally dark colouring, which is why it’s so prized.
Oak Cluster - Has a warm golden to mid-brown base, but its most defining feature is the highly decorative, swirling “cluster” figure. Oak Cluster is full of small, rounded or cloud-like patterns (caused by natural growth irregularities in the tree). These clusters can be tighter and darker, almost knot-like, or more open and lighter, giving the surface a sense of movement.
Teak - Has a golden to medium-brown base colour that can range from warm honey through to a rich, deep bronze, but over time and especially with oiling, it darkens and takes on a richer, warmer glow.
Each fly box is inlaid with high-density foam, which will keep even barbless flies nice and secure.
The Spider Patterns
Spiders are some of the most productive flies fished in rivers today. Especially popular at the start of the Brown Trout season (March/April here in the UK). They are a fantastic way to search a river, often fished in a team of two or three.
Here at Barbless Flies, we have put together the most popular Artisan Spiders for those early-season fishing trips:
- Hare's Lug & Plover
- Woodcock & Hare's Lug
- Dark Watchet
- Stu's Black Spider
- Partridge & Yellow
- Partridge & Orange
- Mirage Spider
- Red-Spot Spider
- Snipe & Purple
- Gold & Black
- Black Spider
- Hare's & Partridge
- Waterhen Bloa
- Parson's Fancy
- Iron Blue Spider
- Partridge & Copper
In total, there are 32 of our Artisan Summer Spiders contained within one of Jeff's stunning wooden fly boxes.
To purchase our Artisan Summer Spider Selection, just choose your box and click on the "Add to Basket" button at the top of this page.